Latitude (out of town)

Latitude is one of Glastonbury's many little brothers or sisters but aiming to provide much more than just pop music and overcrowded camping; offering literature, dance, music, film, poetry, the all important Children's area and, of course, pop music and overcrowded camping. Many people have reviewed the actual event in terms of what it has offered and generally the reviews are very positive; I'll concentrate on what it offered families.

In summary Latitude lived up to its name as a child friendly event with a very relaxed feel and open to all ages; L, aged just 2 months was not the youngest!

Getting there

The festival is in Henham Park, Sussex; it was a sufficiently long drive that, with kids, it was worth stopping on the way. But the drive was simple and reasonably quick beyond that.

Our first mistake was to park in the wrong place and ended up having to carry a lot of stuff a very long way with two children and a baby in tow (not a great start); however wheelbarrow hire and very friendly and generally helpful staff made this much better than it could have been.

Camping

The family area is an area of the camp site only accessible if you have the correct family pass; although this was inconsistently policed (sometimes our friends could come in if they were with us; others they could not) the area was certainly populated with plenty of children of all ages. The camping area also provided some simple children's activities (circus stuff and art material), separate loos (see below) and its own food tent.

The family camping area seemed more crowded than other parts of the campite and overflowed into the caravan park, this could well be as a result of the success in the last few years; but hopefully the organisers will take note and increase its size next year.

One major downside to the festivals are toilets; the family loos were generally cleaner (porta-loos rather than latrenes) but frequently blocked or ran out of water. I would not be too critical however; the organisers did provide extra loos when it became apparent that they were needed.

Family arena

In the arena (separated from the campsite) was another family area, again only allowing families access. This provided the bulk of the family orientated activities which were as good as they were varied. D & B particularly liked the pond dipping and woodland activities; also covered were parachute games, plays, stories, arts and general play stuff with an under fives "parent and child chill out area" providing free refreshments, suncream and nappies.

Sadly we did not make it to a daily performance of Hansel and Gretal; a shame as it is one of both D & B's favourite stories. I think D was worried that the witch would turn out to be real...

General arena

In the main part of the festival the areas were very welcoming of young children, the programme marked where an event was not appropriate. This meant that all of us could see performers that I would not have expected to be able to take them to at any other place, including a Michael Nyman piano concert which D & B both slept through.

There was a daily children's book session in the literary area; sadly we managed to forget this on all three days.

Conclusion

This was a great weekend; through all the problems, tiredness and very frayed tempers by the time we left on Sunday evening all four of those that could express an opinion wanted to come back next year. My only main concern is that our camping holiday in the Isle of Wight might now prove to be a disapointment to D who will be expecting music, drama, pond dipping, etc.

What: Lattitude
Where: Henham Park; sussex
Cost: Adults £130; children free
Going again: Already have tickets
Try: Innocent viliage fate
Top tip: Don't take too much, you probably won't need it. Find out how to get to the closest car park to the family area BEFORE leaving

Walthamstow Young Peoples' Caribbean Carnival

This is an event that I remember from when I was young. The parade is populated by young people from various groups and schools throughout Walthamstow who parade about one to two miles through Walthamstow to the town square. D's nursery was represented, using the theme of Indian animals and so, dressed as tigers (pictured) and peacocks we walked the mile or so along the route.

The parade costumes were far more impressive than those in my memory and ended with a full funfair, including rides and games, with all the children taking part getting their five minutes of fame on a big stage.

My only real complaint was the lack of advertising. I live on the route of the parade and only knew about it because I was in it and, thus, the roads were not so much lined with cheering crowds as bemused shoppers and annoyed motorists. Probably not enough to ruin what was a good day out, but annoying none the less.

What: Young Person's Caribbean Carnival
Where: Starts at Walthamstow Town Hall finishes at Walthamstow Town Square (close to Walthamstow Central)
Cost: Free
Going next year? Possibly, depends if we're involved and if not if its advertised!
Try: Notting Hill Carnival